Sales of OTC remedies increase at the dollar store channel

The dollar store channel is growing in prominence when it comes to OTC remedies, noted Bob Sanders, EVP at IRI, at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association Annual Executive Conference last March. Overall, 99.2% of all households purchased an OTC remedy in the past year, generating 2.9 billion trips, which was on par with the year prior. The average consumer spent $347 on OTC medicines last year, up 2%.

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The dollar channel contributed the greatest gain in channel contribution to OTC sales — 2% of all OTCs were sold in a dollar store last year, up 0.4%. And dollar stores accounted for 5% of all OTC trips, up 0.2%. OTC sales within the dollar channel have increased due to gains in both penetration and buying rate, Sanders said. As many as 28.3% of U.S. households bought their OTCs in a dollar store last year, spending as much as $23.99 per purchase.